Episode 74 - The epistolary scheming of Willem Siebenhaar; NSL video tranche

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We begin this episode by reminiscing about MySpace, but not for long, and read some fan-mail, and celebrate South Melbourne and Melbourne Knights being 1st and 2nd on the ladder.

Eventually Pauls gets to discussing a tranche he's been given of mostly South Melbourne Hellas related videos spanning 1983-1994 or thereabouts (which he's been uploading on his YouTube channel) - clips people may not have seen before, and clips from otherwise poor eras in South Melbourne's history. We talk about the reaction of then Brisbane City player Paul Schiavo to one of the early 1980s clips, and his further recollections on the differences between Brisbane and Melbourne crowds of that era, especially in regards to temperament. Paul also goes on to discuss what the videos as a collective reveal in the form of evidence - of game styles, of stadiums, supporters and the limited amenities, and the resemblances to a lower league English quality of the same time. And the effects on the class makeup of the crowd when amenities are improved.

After the break we look at the brief Australian soccer involvement of the eccentric Dutch anarchist Willem Siebenhaar, in particular Siebenhaar's attempts to get soccer going in Perth and Fremantle in the 1890s. Ian takes great delight in the epistolary scheming of Siebenhaar at trying to encourage discussion and debate about the merits of soccer. Paul wonders if this is more evidence of a cohort of eligible bachelors (and bounders), usually professionals belonging to the middle and upper-middle classes trying to promote soccer. For more on Siebenhaar's life and interests aside from soccer, see his ADB entry.

The last segment is 100 Years Ago Today, where we start with fire brigade soccer in Wagga and Sydney; then to Albury for more Corinthians and Thistles; in Brisbane, the Wynnum players miss the train for their match against Corinthians; then to Weston where there's a meeting for various presentation, and Ian marvels how well organised these meetings are; then down to the South Coast where they thank the ladies in their auxiliary role; and after a brief stop in Rockhampton (see also Joe Gorman's old article on soccer in Nerimbera); the exotic oriented story of the HMS Malaya playing against the Singapore Chinese Football Association; and the attempted revival of rugby union in Victoria.